Spring type clutch



July 1,

1952 z. TAKATs SPRING TYPE CLUTCH Filed July 11, 1947 Ii Ii' INVENTOR Zoltan Tukors ATTORNEY To overcome the difculty above described, the

sprocket drive from the supply to the gate has been modified and improved so that it is impossible for the iilm at that side lof the gate to become unduly tensioned. The sprocket is actually driven by a relatively simple and inexpensive but effective unidirectional drive which permits overrunning in the direction of rotation. The

invention will be described in detail by reference 4 times causes reverse rotation of the sprockets and while that merely enlarges the loop 20 at the take-up side, the opposite effect that is a tightening of the loop 23 is in evidence at the to the accompanyingr figures of drawing, wherein identical numerals of reference are applied to like parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing a magazine to which the invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, certain parts being broken away to be shown in section, illustrating the details of the uni-directional overrunning sprocket drive.

Now referring to Fig. 1, a magazine for a moving picture camera is illustrated and has a casing I which forms a support for spindles II and I2 upon which are rotatably mounted the supply roll of film I3 and a take-up roll I4, respectively. The supply roll I3 isrelatively free to be turned, although, as is the common practice, it is frictioned enough to prevent oVerrunning. -The' take-up roll I4 is wound on the usual core which is frictionally driven by gearing including the gears I5 and I6, the first mentioned gear being rotated by a pinion behind the take-up sprocket I1 which is directly driven by clutch engagement with the spring motor or other power means in the camera or other photographicapparatus. A sprocket generally indicated by numeral I8 is driven by mechanism hereinafter to be described by reference to Fig. 2 through the gear I4 and a second intermediate gear I9 which meshes with a smaller gear or pinion fixed to a central spindle concentric with the sprocket I8. The film F is withdrawn from the rolll I3 and is passed under freely rotatable guide rollers 2| and 22 being threaded over the sprocket I8 between these rollers. and is then formed into a relatively loose loop 23 after which it is threaded downwardly through the gate 24. This gate 24 may be of any convenient construction and need not be described in detail at this time. rThe nlm is intermittently moved through the gate in synchronism with the opening and closing movements of a shutter (not shown) by the conventional claw 24 driven in synchronism with the sprockets I1 and I8 and from thev same source of motive power. Y

After exposure at the gate, the film is threaded as shownV in Fig. l, passing overv rollers `23 and` 21 and being threaded about a portion of the sprocket 28 intermediate theserollers. It then passes to the take-up reel I4 to be wound thereon in a manner known in the art. The lm at the take-up side is formed into a loop prior to being turned back andy threaded about the insertion of the magazine in the camera somesupply side. As can be seen, if two or three such reinsertions of the magazine all happen to result in reverse rotation of the sprockets, the loop 23 may become lost entirely so `that the `film from the sprocket I8 to the gate becomes relatively tight or tensioned. Since the claw 25 will not permit film to be drawn backwardly, and in fact, will when the camera is in operation continue to draw lm as long as it can, the tendency is to continue operation without the loop 23 and under conditions which throw an excessive load on the claw 25, seriously tensioning the film and also tending to bind it or to jam it at the sprocket I8. The film is guided about and is maintained in Contact with the teeth of the sprocket by means of a spring 30 fixed to the top wall of the magazine and being curved tok follow the contour of the sprocket and rest upon roller 22 all as illustrated in Fig. l. That spring 36 is preferably slotted so that the teeth VprojectV through the slots. That construction makes it virtually impossible for the lm to jump from one tooth to another on the sprocket'ortov become disengaged from the sprocket. In some instances, the spring may merely bear upon the"Y tops of the sprocket teeth, and in any event, the' spring must have sufcient flexibility to permit it to be pressed away from the sprocket when the ilmV is threaded.

To obviate the dimcultie's attendant upon the loss of the loop 23, the sprocket I8` is driven. as illustrated in Fig. 2 by a uni-directional overrunning drive'. The partsat 'the `sprocket are illustrated in Fig. 2 at a very muchenlarged scale and details not evidencedlinjlig. 1 are clearly visible in this second figura` The back wallof the casing IIl, designated by numeral 3l is bent upwardly, lo1' 'c' therwise formed so as to support or retain yimposition a centralsleeve ,32.V within which is'rotatively guided a spindle 33 having an end 34 within which is held an S-shaped drive spring ,'35. The spindle v has fixed at its other end a gear`36 having teeth meshiing with the teeth' on Ythe'inte'rnfie'diateYgear I9, Figi.

The sprocket I8 has one end (thetop end, Fig. 2) counterboredto formln ,internal cylindrical surface 3l engaged by `the.spring'm'.emberI 35. The sprocket is held in psition'by' engagement of certain shoulders on the parts' and by a Washer 38 engaged beneath drive spring 35A which vis iixed in the end of the spindle. -When the spindle 33 is rotated in a`counterclockwise direction for advancing, the film toward thegate, theeffect of the engagement between the Aei-shaped springY 35 and the internal surface L3'! of the sprocket is one Awhich results in driving 'the sprocket at'v the same rate as the spindle.4 The, parts, "however, may

overrun if there is any lten'der'icy'for the sprocket to be rotatedvfaster thanjit isfpo'sitive'ly driven.` As above explained, that proyides for.` the .contingency under which there is a t to tighten the loop '23 untilY th l iilmvisseriously strainedand caused tocreaftejundue pressure at the top of the gate. A

In operation "the magaz ne is inserteda proper camera 1nechanismx thereby. engagingthe driving' clutch'for the' 'sprocket Il with" aifcgoperating clutch member. in thecainera.' jlhe" claw 25is also'engaged with` the filing at thegate. Upon startingthecamerazt I' Adrawagitent the supply I3 and is positively fed to the gate and taken from the gate by the sprockets II and I8. The lm fed by sprocket I1 is taken up at the reel I4 in a known manner. Sometimes, it is found desirable to remove one magazine and substitute another. That may be done several times so that any particular magazine may be removed and reinserted in the camera several times before the total amount of lm therein has been exposed. If, due to failure of the clutch to mesh properly, the sprockets are rotated without moving the film through the gate so that the loop 23 is lost, the mechanism herein described prevents any undue tensioning of the film between the sprocket I8 and the gate since that sprocket may be rotated in the direction of film advance and lm drawn from the supply without subjecting it to any abnormal tension whatsoever. Sometimes users of magazine loaded film may rotate the clutch Without realizing the eect thereof upon the film and mechanism within the magazine casing. In that event, it is possible to advance the lm, but if subjected to reverse rotation, the loop 23 cannot be lost since the member 35 within the sprocket will not rotate it in a reverse direction.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. An overrunning drive mechanism for sprocket feeds comprising a sleeve, a sprocket rotatable thereon having a counter-sunk recessed portion, said recessed portion having a smooth continuous surface, a driving spindle rotatable Within said sleeve and extending into said recessed portion, said spindle having a diagonal groove, a flat spring pressed in said groove, the edge of said spring being perpendicular to said spindle, said spring having an end portion form-V ing an acute angle with the inner surface of the recessed portion and its end engaging said surface whereby rotation of said spindle in one direction exerts driving force on said sprocket and in the other direction permits displacement cf said spring over the inner surface of the recessed portion of said sprocket.

2. A simple uni-directional drive coupling adapted for quick assembly comprising a driven member having a concentric clyindrical recessed portion, said recessed portion having a smooth continuous surface, a drive spindle having a di- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 960,794 Bingham June '7, 1910 1,005,936 Cameron Oct. 17, 1911 1,468,322 Odom Sept. 18, 1923 1,839,064 Thornton Dec. 29, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 284,366 Germany May 22, 1915 678,117 France Dec. 23, 1929 344,344 England Mar. 2, 1931 

